Seven Countries Accuse Google of GDPR Violations

Seven different countries are accusing Google of GDPR violations. They ask privacy regulators to take action against Google for its location practices.

“These practices are not compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as Google lacks a valid legal ground for processing the data in question. In particular, the report shows that users’ consent provided under these circumstances is not freely given,” it said.

Google’s response is that Location History is off by default, and you can edit, delete, or pause it at any time. Further reading: 6 ways Google tricks you into letting it track your location.

Geeky Gift Guide and Your Questions Answered – Mac Geek Gab 737

The best part about geeky gifts is that sometimes the best person to get them for is yourself. Listen to John and Dave – your two favorite geeks – discuss some of their favorites at this point in the holiday buying season, and decide whether you buy one of these now for someone else… or wait until the gifting season wraps up to get one for you!

A Detailed Comparison Chart: iPhone X, XR, XS/Max

CNET has produced a fairly detailed comparison chart that shows the similarities and differences of last year’s iPhone X and this year’s iPhone XR, iPhone XS and XS Max. See “What’s new and different.” However, the similarities may surprise you. Missing? System RAM, 4K frame rates and stereo sound nuances. Still, it’s worth a gander.

TMO Background Mode Interview with Science Fiction Author Darren Beyer

Darren Beyer is a former NASA Space Shuttle engineer at Kennedy Space Center who worked on launching and recovering more than a dozen missions, including the Hubble Space Telescope. He also conducted astronaut training and had the honor of working onboard every Space Shuttle orbiter except Challenger. In late 1998, he left NASA to become an entrepreneur, and, lately, an author.

The first result was the Anghazi series of novels, Casimir Bridge, released in 2016 to rave reviews thanks largely to his commitment to putting the science back in science fiction. The second installment, Pathogen Protocol was released in October, 2018. We chatted about Darren’s early life inspirations, his NASA career, an interesting experience with an astronaut, his scientific approach to SciFi writing, and how private industry may well send manned missions to Mars before NASA.